Finance Minister Trevor Manuel set the cat among the pigeons this week after the fallout over the disclosure that the PSL’s sponsorship negotiating team were set to share a R50-million payout from the recently announced R500-million PSL Absa sponsorship deal.
Not only has Manuel’s published letter to Absa CEO Steven Booysen, lambasting the R50-million payout, resulted in Absa guaranteeing that the payment will not take place, it has also placed the spotlight firmly back on the recently concluded R1,6-billion Supersport broadcasting rights deal.
It was reported that when the Supersport deal was announced the PSL negotiating team — made up of former PSL CEO Trevor Phillips, PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Motaung, Mato Madlala and consultant Peter Mancer — was set to receive R30-million each in commission for facilitating the deal.
In his letter to Booysen Manuel called the R50-million payment “outrageous”, “morally reprehensible” and “corrupt”.
Manuel said the individuals concerned had been elected to serve the best interests of the sport and did not have a right to “personal enrichment” for administering the sport.
“If the lion’s share of that amount were invested in the proper organisation and development of junior soccer leagues, it would be a wise investment,” said Manuel in the letter.
He also stated that the letter should first have been sent to SuperSport’s CEO Imtiaz Patel.
“Their ‘Super Diski’ needs to stand on the correct values. I hope that they will read this, feel sufficiently chastised and correct their wrongs,” said Manuel.
Patel told the Mail & Guardian this week that at the time of concluding the deal SuperSport was not aware of the commission payments.
“There is nothing wrong [with what] we have done,” said Patel. “The PSL is a legal entity with its own board and governance structures, it is difficult for us to tell them what they can do with their money.”
Absa’s response to Manuel’s letter was to state that it knew nothing of commission payments to the PSL bargaining team and that it would institute checks and balances in the sponsorship agreement to ensure that no individuals benefit from the deal.
“No money has changed hands. What we have in terms of paying for our sponsorship does not include any personal enrichment,” said Absa spokesperson Louis von Zeuner.
What the PSL said
The PSL has noted with concern the recent scathing and, in some instances, defamatory remarks levelled at the league and certain of its officials regarding the alleged payment of commissions with regard to commercial transactions and the supposed lack of corporate governance within the organisation.
The possible payment of commission to officials of the PSL is ‘work in progress’. No formal decision has been taken by the PSL and no payment has been made.
The entire process regarding this matter is being conducted transparently and in accordance with best practice pertaining to corporate governance.
Given the financial challenges the PSL faced at the time, it was resolved that various members of the PSL’s Board of Governors had significant contacts, expertise and experience and were best placed to secure as favourable as possible transactions in best interests of the league, and would be entitled to commission.
In fact, and despite the executive committee having received a clear mandate from the board of governors of the PSL, [who had accepted the principle] to finalise the structure commissions payable, the executive committee has taken further steps to ensure proper corporate governance is adhered to by the PSL, without being obliged.
At its meeting of the 29th of March 2007, and despite a breakdown of commissions payable having been prepared, the executive committee agreed that three further steps should be taken to ensure that any possible payment of such commissions be in accordance with corporate governance best practice.
Accordingly it was at such a meeting resolved that:
1) The issue of commissions should, despite this not being technically necessary, again be tabled at a full meeting of the highest authority of the PSL, its board of governors, for the board’s final approval.
2) The matter should be referred to Deloitte & Touche, one of the leading audit firms in the world for their independent and professional opinion. More particularly Deloitte’s division which specialises in corporate governance.
3) The PSL’s finance committee was tasked with the formation of a (renumeration) [sic] committee to consider and deal with (renumeration) [sic], including meeting fees, salaries, bonuses, awards, commissions and the like.
These three processes will be finalised in due course and only upon such completion will a final decision be made regarding the possible payment of commission.